2008: Year in Review

2008 came in with a bang and left with a whimper. The year started with fireworks, both inside and outside of a Philadelphia hotel room. It ended with a tear or two as I lost the girl for the third time in the calender year. You might say, "shame you you, how can you keep setting yourself up for disappointment?" Well if you knew the girl, you'd understand but as the guy from the diner in Old School said, "Love. Its a motherfu*#er."

Speaking of Old School, the guy at the diner was talking to Mitch, also known as the Godfather. 2008 saw me becoming a Godfather for the first time as we were blessed with Little Sofia on a Saturday evening in April. Although she lives in Ohio, I was able to see her a few times this year and I absolutely love that little girl and I think there's a pretty good chance that she loves me too.

I saw the ups and downs of the sports world as well. My Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 years and my New York Mets collapsed in September for the second time in as many years. To add salt to the wounds, the Phillies not only went TO the World Series, they had the balls to WIN the damn thing. I tried so hard to be happy for the team and their fans, mostly I put on a good face to help out the aforementioned relationship. But much like the relationship, I wasn't able to hold it together and my true feelings are starting to come out: I hate that team. I'm sorry, but I truly despise that team. Although we'll see who has the last laugh because I made a bold prediction on my radio show that the Phillies won't even sniff the postseason in 2009. And since our producer saved my speech, I'm hoping the Mets can help me out for a change and back me up.

Speaking of baseball, 2008 was the birth of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the new AAA home of the Phillies. It is the ONLY time I am able to root for anything even remotely related to that team from Philadelphia but I love me some Pigs. My favorite thing in the world is baseball and having a chance to catch a game, as a fan or a media member, just about any time I wanted to is truly the best thing ever.

I ended 2008 53 pounds lighter than I started 2008. I began endorsing a weight loss program on my radio show and as the year ended I had lost more weight than anybody this company had on its roster. I kept it up and although the holidays set me back a little, I'm right back where I need to be, and on my way to even more weight loss for 2009.

So 2008 was an interesting year filled with highs and lows. There were amazing nights in a hot tub and horrendous nights at a hospital. There was joy and there was sadness. But every day I woke up on the right side of the grass which made it a good start.

Who knows what 2009 is going to bring but its safe to say it will bring something. The question is will it be more of the goodness, or more of the sadness? But I'm not one to worry about those things. In the words of the late great John Lennon :"There will be an answer. Let it be."